Yorkshire prep school enters administration

Written by companyrescuelondonadmin3 April 2017

Malsis School based in Keighley has gone into administration after a proposed merger with Gigglewicks School failed to take place.

The independent school had been struggling with cashflow for the last few years and, following the collapsed merger, felt there was no other option but to close its doors and call in the administrators. All 49 members of staff have been made redundant and 61 pupils will need to relocate to surrounding schools.

The merger failed to materialise after Gigglewicks revealed the high costs of refurbishment and the extent of time it would take to help improve income.

Charles King and Hunter Kelly of Ernst & Young were appointed joint administrators on the 11th December by the school’s owner, Malsis School Trust, a charitable company. They will look into marketing the property and land to ensure creditors’ best interests are met.

Charles King said in a statement, “A fall in pupil numbers combined with pressure on fees impacted Malsis School Trust’s cash flow, and the school could not continue to fund the resulting substantial losses”.

“Despite efforts to secure a merger for Malsis School with another school, negotiations ended unsuccessfully in late October 2014, which left the trustees with no choice but to decide to close Malsis School in December 2014. The closure is a sad event for all associated with the school and the local community.”

Malsis opened in 1920 and has 40 acres of land with a lake, golf course and rugby grounds. Past pupils included cricketer, James Whitaker and screenplay writer, Simon Beaufoy.

It's time to take back control

Call now for free andconfidential advice

Just a quick note to say a big thank you to all the staff at KSA, our CVA was passed today by creditors voting in an overwhelming number including HMRC to accept the proposal as prepared by KSA.

The road to reach today’s conclusion has been bumpy, but at each stage your team has supported and guided us through the issues and we have reached a very satisfactory outcome to the benefit of customers, staff, all creditors and shareholders.